Skip to main content

aj-mal
8th March 2016

International Alcohol Etiquette: Breaking down the barriers of communication

A brief guide on the essential phrases you will need when travelling to order some booze and drinking with anyone, anywhere
Categories:
TLDR

Learning a new language can be time consuming, and communicating with the locals when travelling is often difficult to master. For this reason, we have constructed a brief international guide to the most essential phrases you will need to get served anywhere on the planet!

 

First: How to order a beer.

To enjoy a pint in Germany, ask for “Ein Bier, bitte!” The French request is, “Une bière, s’il vous plait”, whilst Italians stylishly utter “Una birra, per favore!”

In Spanish, “Una cerveza por favor” will get you a beer. However, if you’re up for the challenge, it’s recommended that you take the time to learn some of the many regional adjustments.

For example, in Catalan: “Una cervesa, si us plau!” And in the Basque region of Bilbao and San Sebastián, you will need to ask for a “Garagardo bat, mesedez!”

For a cold one in Sweden, “En öl, tack”. In Prague, “Pivo, Prosim”.

In China, you can only try to pronounce “Ching gay woh ee bay pee joh!”

And for Beers in Brazil and Portugal, try “Uma cerveja, por favor!”

 

To say cheers, running through the following phrases should eventually see you stumble upon the right words:

Poland and Russia:”Nazdrovya”
Sweden: “Skol”
Germany: “Prost”
Spain: “Salud”
Italy: “Salute”
France: “à votre santé”.

 

Whilst commonly known as simply just beer, or similar words such as “Bier” (Germany), “Biere” (France), or “Birra” (Italy), more unusual names include:

“Cerveza” in Spain, but “Garagardoa” in the Basque region. “Cervesa” in Catalonia, and “Cervexa” in Galicia. “Una Pinta” can also be requested.

“Une Mousse” or “Une binouze” in France. “Bironga” in Mexico and “Pi Jiu” in Mandarin. In Eastern Europe, the Baltics and Russia, it is called “Pivo” or “Piva”, and in Scandinavia, ask for an “öl.”

Enjoy!


More Coverage

Your twenties aren’t a race. Stop measuring your progress against everyone else’s highlight reel. Live in the moment. Embrace the messy, ordinary moments that shape you.
The second-hand marketplace is now lots of people’s first choice for clothing, from your housemates to your mum. But over time, the platform has turned into a sea of re-sold fast fashion. Heidi Taylor asks a 19-year-old and a 71-year-old if that’s such a bad thing.
The phrase ‘dropping out’ often feels synonymous with ‘failing’
The false hope the 2026 ‘rebrand’ brings for young women in fact reinforces there is a correct way to exist. Self-improvement should not demand uniformity but should celebrate authenticity